Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Under normal circumstances Steele would have collected his fee and
called it a night, but the circumstances were far from normal. Questions
lingered in the mind of the curious detective.

Julia and Isabella had gone though enough. Steele didn’t want to
burden them with his theories so he
concocted a reason to stick around.

“Julia if you and your aunt don’t mind I better stay here with you two
until the bank opens on Monday morning.”

Julia shook her head and smiled. “Don’t be silly Mr. Steele. Everybody who
knows about the gold is dead, besides you
have done enough. We’ll be fine.”

“No,” Isabella held up her hand, you can never be too careful.” Steele
motioned to the couch.

“Then it’s settled, I can sleep right here.”

Julia and Isabella spent the evening and part of the night at the
kitchen table talking and making plans to
go on a Caribbean Cruise. It was 2:18 when they finally called it a night.
Steele turned off the lamp to settle in after arranging the bed sheets and
pillows on the couch in the living room. As he drifted off to sleep he began
second guessing himself. Maybe Julia was right; if my hunch was right… At that
very moment Steele heard movement coming from the dining room.

“What the hell?” Steele quietly picked up his gun from the end table and
clicked off the safety. Still sitting on
the sofa in the dark room Steele watched as the figure of a man holding a small
flashlight began searching the draws of the sideboard then the china closet.
Steele has seen enough.

With his gun drawn he approached the robber, “Freeze!”

Startled by the voice the burglar whirled around threw the flashlight at
Steel’s head then lunged at him. When the men crashed onto the coffee table
Steele nearly lost his grip on his gun. Shaken by the fall Steele rose to his
feet holding the gun down on the robber. Just as he was about to turn on the
lamp Julia and Isabella came barreling down the narrow staircase and before
Steele could react Isabella wacked him in the back with a wooden baseball bat.
Just as she was about to take another whack at Steele Julia turned on
the light. Realizing that Isabella had made
a mistake she grabbed the bat from her aunt and shouted “Stop!” Up until that
point the woman had not noticed who the man lying on the floor was. Julia was
stunned. Starring in disbelief as if she had seen a ghost. she dropped
the bat and slowly shook her head. “Greg.
It can’t be. I thought you were…..”

“Steele finished her sentence “dead” Holding his gun in one hand and
trying to massage his aching back with the other Steele winched as he explained
Greg’s miraculous resurrection.

“He had me fooled for a while too, at first.” Greg slowly sat up on the
floor next to where Julia dropped the bat.

“How could you have possibly known Steele? I was careful. I had
everything worked out.”

Steele shook his head, “no brother. You were careless. Too many things
just didn’t add up. I get why you showed up at the old barber shop a couple of
days ago. You figured it was your last shot at finding anything left behind by
Romone. You figured the construction guys would do the work for you. Tear out some of the walls then you could
barge in and find the gold. You knew that once the remodeling started you
wouldn’t have another chance. Then there was the dead body in your apartment,
must have been there what two maybe three days. You wanted it to be found but not by me. You
probably figured Julia had shown me your photo. It was you who called the cops
that night. Hoping they would get to me before I got a look at the poor bastard
you murdered to take your place. The police weren’t just in the
neighborhood; it was you who put them on
me.”

Greg scoffed as he rubbed his ribs.

“Lucky guess Steele but wrong, I didn’t off nobody. I planted a few of
the gold coins in my place before I invited that poor sap you found dead
in my apartment. I knew Cecil wanted the
gold almost as much as I did. I knew he was following me back home so I ducked
in the staircase. The door to my apartment was opened so he thought the dude
standing in the kitchen was me. If you knew it wasn’t me then why didn’t
you tell Julia?”

Steele waved his gun around, “I didn’t have any proof.

Your biggest mistake was trying to get rid of anything that could
identify you. The dead guy was in your apartment. He was about your height
weight and age so without any ID the police assumed it was you. The ash in the kitchen sink was from you burning
his Id and your picture.

Yeah, that’s right I saw the perfectly good picture frame in the trash.
Couldn’t have that lying around either could ya? That whole scene in
Laura’s Lounge with Julia’s Uncle Cecil was also staged. That’s the only thing I couldn’t figure out.”

Greg quickly picked up the baseball bat and got up. As he stood Steele
raised his weapon and pointed it at Greg’s chest. “Drop the bat. Trust
me, you don’t wanna test me. My back’s acing and that’s reason enough for me to shoot you already. I’m not in the
mood for filling out more police reports.”

Greg sneered at Steele before looking over at Julia. “Okay smart ass, I
was trying to lure Slick into my apartment. I knew he saw the gold coins
too. Since I ain’t got no friends I needed
a way to get somebody around my size into my apartment. I guess they don’t call
him Slick for nothing. I would have killed him but he never did show, it didn’t
matter. My luck had changed. I was
thinking about how to kill that guy in my place when I walked over to my window
and saw old Cecil going into Laura’s Lounge everything fell into place. It was
the perfect plan. Cecil wanted that gold. I needed everybody to think I
was dead. If I could get Cecil out the
way on a murder charge and fake my own death, then hey. Once you found the gold
on old Cecil no one would think twice about me since everybody thinks I’m dead.
That stash of gold you brought back from Canada is mine. I earned it
and I ain’t leaving here without it.
Ain’t no point in you lying. I followed you two to the airport parking lot. I
saw you get on a flight to Canada
then camped out in my car in the parking lot waiting for you guys to come back.

I know you got it.”

Steele shook his head, “yeah, I know. You did a piss poor job of tailing
me. So you let Cecil go to his grave thinking he murdered you.”

Julia had seen and heard enough. She had been duped and she was angry.
“You bastard,” she yelled. “I can’t believe I felt sorry for you. I
pitied you. That money belonged to my
parents and you won’t get a damn dime, you hear me.”

Steele briefly turned to Julia. Her words had thrown him into a fit of
rage. In the split second that Steele had turned away Greg raised the
bat and lunged at her. Pow, pow, without giving it a second though Steele pumped two rounds into Greg’s chest at point
blank range.

Julia screamed when she heard the shots. Greg staggered around a bit.
Crimson pools of blood quickly covered his blue shirt. He dropped the
bat and fell to the floor on his back.

Greg tried to speak but couldn’t get the words out. Julia fought back
the tears as she watched the life of man she once loved drain away but her aunt
was not so forgiving.

Isabella stood over Greg’s lifeless body and smiled. “Well at
least this time we know he’s dead.”

By morning Julia had managed to wash away years of her aunt’s guilt but
time would have to do the rest. Steele and Julia paid off the mob. As they sat
inside Rosa’s Rib Ranch she asked Steele, “Do
you think I will end up dead like the rest Mr. Steele?”

Steele chuckled; “the only man who could ruin Isabella’s life is dead.
You just paid off the mob, you and your aunt are about to take the cruise of
your life and you have enough money
to last till you are a hundred years old. I’d say the curse has been broken.”

Julia kept her end of the agreement and handed Steele a check for his
fee. As the two chatted Steele checked his watch and looked at the front door.
“Julia I have a surprise for you.” Steele’s girlfriend Shakia walked in and Steele introduced the two.

Steele explained that her mom and dad had gotten a bad rap. “For twenty
years your parent’s good names have been slandered, dragged through the mud.
It’s time for that to change.”

Shakia opened a sketch pad. “With your permission we would like to
reinforce the roof and build an observatory in your dads honor? Of course we
would build a six foot wall around the roof for safety and …….” before Shakia
could finish Julia leaped from her seat and hugged them both. Steele smiled at Shakia; “I’ll take
that as a yes.”

The End

Thank
you for reading the Alexander Steele Trilogy

Now enjoy this first
chapter preview of

Blackout

Chapter 1

Inconvenient Truths

Alexander Steele brushed away the snow clinging to the bronze plaque on
the wall outside his nightclub. The words Club Inner Sanctum were now visible
to those who passed by but hadn’t already heard of Philly’s most popular night
spot. It was ten in the morning, too early for his employees but not for his
good friend and club manager Sugar Bear who lived in one of the apartments
above the private club. “Welcome back boss,” Sugar Bear gave Steele a brief
hug. “How was Carnival?” “Too short,” joked Steele. “Here, I got you
something.” He tossed Sugar Bear an expensive looking wallet. “Thanks boss.” The
dark completed heavy set man examined the black leather wallet before gently
slipping it into his back pocket. Steele pointed to the last booth in the rear
of the club. “Would you bring my mail and that thing we talked about on the
phone back to my table?” Without waiting for an answer Steele poured himself a
cup of coffee, picked up his laptop from behind the bar and headed to the booth
that his friends joking referred to as his office. The unsuspecting detective
thought he would ease back into his routine of running his successful club.
Steele had no clue that what Sugar bear was about to bring him would lead him
on deadly manhunt.

The corner window at the back booth was small but it was Steele’s window
to the world. Steele was six feet tall; he wore a mustache and kept his hair
cut fairly close. His medium brown complexion had gotten a few shades darker
during his trip. Alexander Steele sipped his piping hot coffee as he watched
the snow flakes drifting down from the heavens. What a difference a day makes.’
He thought to himself, twenty four hours ago I was relaxing on a warm, white
sandy beach in Rio De Janeiro and now….. Steele’s thoughts were interrupted
when Sugar Bear brought a copy of The Philadelphia Daily News. He dropped the
paper on the desk and handed his employer a large stack of mail addressed to
Club Inner Sanctum attention Mr. Alexander Steele. Steele looked up at Sugar
Bear and slowly shook his head. “Why do I do it man? I mean, why do I keep coming
back to this town to freeze my ass off every single winter?” Sugar Bear had
heard it all before. He looked at Steele and laughed. “Come on man, you love
this city and besides you love Shakia and Shakia loves her mom too much to
leave her here alone. End of discussion.” Sugar Bear reached inside his pants
pocket, “Oh here’s that thing your cousin Johnny brought over from one of his
boys at the teen center in South Philly.” Steele examined the small grey piece
of plastic. “It’s a memory stick, you plug it into the computer,” Sugar Bear
explained.

Steele seemed slightly irritated, “I know what it is, what I don’t know
is how the kid got it, and why Johnny left it for me?” Sugar Bear pointed to
the telephone on the wall. “Dude, I swear you’re getting senile. I told you on
the phone. There was a scuffle on the subway. Two guys jacked this foreign
guy’s I-pod. When the train doors opened they ran and he dropped this when he
chased after them.” Steele waved him off. “Yeah, yeah now I remember. It’s
encrypted.”

Steele spent the better part of an hour trying to open the files on the
travel drive. When Sugar Bear returned with more coffee he could see Steele was
running out of patience. Steele flung the object on the desk. “I’m a detective
not a computer programmer. Why did he give this to me?” Sugar Bear slid into
the seat on the opposite side of the booth. “Ex-detective boss, you’re retired,
remember?” Steele waved his hand, “Whatever, I’m calling Stan. I bet he’ll have
this thing open in five minutes.”

Steele spent the rest of the morning opening mail most of which
consisted of checks for members dues to the club and reading the paper. The
headlines read, Canadian Officials Baffled by Blackout. It would not be long
before Steele whishes that he had taken the time to read the entire article. The
jetlag from his trip had begun dragging Steele down. It became more and more
difficult for him to concentrate. “Sugar Bear! Yo! Sugar Bear! I’ll be back
around five.” “Okay!” yelled the husky voice from the front of the club.

Shakia was Steele’s lady love; she was as smart as she was beautiful. The
34 year old interior decorator looked twenty four at the most. Steele hooked up
with her at her apartment for an early lunch. “Hi, baby.” She gave him a warm
hug and a kiss. “You hungry baby?” she asked as she turned slightly and pointed
over her shoulder to the kitchen. Without waiting for an answer Shakia strutted
back to the kitchen in faded blue jeans so tight that Steele found himself
wondering how she got into them. Shakia dashed from the kitchen to the hall
closet. “Oh, I forgot all about this last night. I brought you something, a
gift.” She smiled proudly as she handed Steele a small box containing the one
thing that he had managed to avoid up until now. A cell phone, or as Steele
called it the electronic leash. His feeble attempt to fake his appreciation
fell woefully short and Shakia’s beautiful smile quickly turned into a look of
disappointment. Her bright cheerful tone had also vanished.

You can cut the act Alex. I can see you don’t want it.” “No, no baby
it’s just that…” Shakia put her hands on her hips. “What?” Steele chose his
words carefully. “Well, you know I have big fingers and those buttons are so
tiny. On top of that I don’t have a clue how to send one of those text
messages.” Shakia dropped her arms to her side. “That’s the same thing you said
about e-mail a few years ago. Just try it for a month or two, okay?” You’re a
detective, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

After lunch Steele headed back to the club. When he reached over to
unlock his car door he noticed a woman in a parked sports car staring at him
from across the street. Steele was an attractive man who had always kept his
vanity in check. He had grown accustomed to the flirtatious looks given to him
by the ladies but this was different. This face looked very familiar. When he
crossed the street to get a closer look the woman smiled and sped off. On his
drive back to the club Steele got his first cell phone call. “Is this Paul’s
Pizza Parlor?” the voice on the other end of the line asked. “No.” Steele
answered then hung up on the caller. He parked his midnight blue Jag in the
back garage adjacent to the club. Business had been good every since Steele
first opened Club Inner Sanctum a few years ago and on this late afternoon a
couple of regulars had already started trickling in. Sugar Bear spotted Steele
and called him over to the bar. “Hey, boss. Stan’s down stairs in the lounge,
says he found something and for you to come see him pronto.”

Stan didn’t fit the stereotype of the average computer geek. He stood a
tad over Steele’s six foot frame and always dressed in the latest styles. Sporting
a charcoal Armani suit with a deep blue opened collared shirt Stan saw Steele
coming down the stairs and got up to greet him. “What’s happen brother?” he
slapped Steele five and spun the laptop around on the table in Steele’s
direction. “Check it out man.” Stan pointed to the monitor. “You are not gonna
believe this, dog.” What Stan uncovered was a detailed description of the
Canadian blackout. “Okay,” Steele shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the big deal?
Everybody knows about the blackout, it’s been all over the Internet, the TV
news and the papers.” “Naw man.” Stan’s baritone voice grew louder. “Check out
the date. Steele looked more closely this time. December 21, 2010. Stan and Sugar Bear could
hear Steele swearing under his breath. “Son of a bitch, this file was made
three months before the blackout.” Steele stroked his mustache. “Sugar Bear,
call my…” Sugar Bear had anticipated Steele’s next move. He cut Steele off in
mid sentence. “Call your cousin, Johnny.” “I already did.” He looked at his
watch. “He should be here…” “Hold up.” A few seconds later Johnny came
lumbering down the stairs. He was breathing heavy and had trouble trying to
catch his breath. By the time Johnny reached the last step beads of sweet were
starting to form on his forehead. Stan grinned at the obese man. “Damn homie,
don’t they have a gym at your youth center?” “Alright, alright,” Steele waved his
hands. “Cut the crap.”

The guys filled Johnny in on what they knew so far. Steele had Tina
bring drinks down as the men continued talking. Everyone knew that Johnny and
Stan disagreed a lot and today was no different. Stan wanted Johnny to go
straight to the police but Jonny wasn’t having it. “Well, cuz your boy has got
to take this to the cop’s. The guy who lost this thing is still hanging around
after the blackout. That means this ain't over. Who knows what they may be up
to or just how bad this could get?” His jowls wobbled when Johnny shook his
head. “No cops. I already talked to him. Young blood got a record. He don’t
trust Philadelphia’s
finest.” Steele tried another approach. “John, this is a new world. After 9/11
those dudes in Washington
have come up with all kinds of new international bull crap. Think of what will
happen if they pick him up first.” Johnny shook his head again. “Alex, don’t
you see that just makes it worse. You guys don’t understand - the boy is
nervous. He’ll only talk to you.”

Steele took a sip of Pepsi and leaned back in his chair. “Okay, fine,
bring him by tomorrow when he gets out of school. Make sure you take him
through the back entrance. Stan, make a copy of the files and let me know the
second you get any more of them open. Sugar Bear make sure Johnny gets the
check for the center. Thanks for coming guys. I gotta go upstairs, I have a
club to run.”

Dozens of snow plows worked through the night clearing the three inches
of fresh snow and by the next day the roads weren’t the only thing that was
clear, Steele’s jet lag was gone as well. Johnny was a man of his word. Shortly
after three he and the teen-aged boy were sitting in Steele’s back booth. Calvin
wore blue jeans and black jacket. He was a skinny dark skinned kid who looked
to be about fifteen. He seemed nervous and kept looking around as Johnny
directed him to the booth.

Steele apologized for the mess. He had been reading old newspapers
trying to catch up on what had been going on while he was away. “Let me get
some of this crap out of the way.” Steele stopped to shake the young man’s
hand. “It’s Nice to meet you Calvin. I have a couple of questions for you. So
this Asian guy, what did he look like?” “Hang on a minute, Steele paused. I
just got back in town and I’ve been working and reading old papers all
morning.” “Sugar Bear! Come take this stuff! Sorry Calvin, go ahead.” “Well,
Mr. Steele, it happened so fast.” Sugar Bear walked over and reached for the
papers on the table when Calvin’s eyes suddenly grew wider. He slammed the palm
of his hand on top of the stack that Sugar Bear was about to pick up. “That’s
him!” he yelled pointing to the picture in the morning paper. “That’s the dude
from the train. “ Steele picked up the paper and took a good look at the man in
the photo before handing it to Calvin. “Take another look Calvin. This is very
important. Are you sure this is the same guy you saw in the subway?” The teen
shook his head. “I’m positive Mr. Steele.” “Well,” Sugar Bear hunched his
shoulder. “At least you know where he is now.”

Blackout is the first novel from the Alexander Steele series. The second novel The Missing Men will be released later this year.

Friday, January 16, 2015

It was a balmy Saturday night when Julia and Steele landed back
in Philly. Julia’s Aunt Isabella sat in
an old high back chair near the living room window. Next to her was a small
table with a bottle of sherry that was almost empty. She sipped her drink from
a small blue glass as she watched the children playing outside. At first
glance everything looked normal however as Julia and Steele moved closer the tranquil setting was not as it had seemed.
Steele stopped in mid stride and grabbed Julia by the arm when he noticed the
45 pistol resting in her aunt’s lap. Julia’s gasp caused her aunt to turn from
the window to face them. Tears were streaming down her eyes.

“Auntie what’s wrong? What are you doing?” Isabella calmly put down her
glass and wiped the tears from her eyes. Before Steele could approach
her Isabella picked up the gun. “Julia
whispered to Steele I just bought her that bottle the other day. It usually
lasts her a week.”

Isabella slowly shook her head, “I can’t do it anymore, I just can’t.”
Steele could see the pain in her face.

He asked her, “what is it that can’t you do?” When he took a step
towards her she raised her weapon. She
sniffled and looked toward her niece.

“Do you know what today is?”

Julia nodded “yes; it’s the day my parents were killed.”

Isabella waved the gun back and forth. “Not killed, murdered. I
have lived with this lie for twenty
years. It’s time for me to end this. Your Uncle Cecil and I were dating at the
time.

When he found out about the gold he decided that your mother was a
better catch so he dumped me and pursued her. He was relentless. He
didn’t give a damn about her, all her wanted was her money. Romone and Rosa were the perfect couple. They would have never
done anything to harm one another.”

The liquor had begun to take its toll and Isabella was finding it more
difficult to focus.

She stared at the gun.

You know this was my daddy’s pistol; he brought two back from the war, a
38 and this 45. I asked him once if he had killed any Germans with it but he
never did answer. I used to think some things are better left unsaid.”

Steele felt as if he were wearing a pair of lead shoes. He knew that any
attempt to take the gun could result in a blood bath. Isabella was racked with
guilt, but why? What deep dark secret was worth keeping all those years? Why
was she contemplating taking her own life?

Steele decided to pose a question.

“Isabella, why didn’t you report your sister missing when she didn’t
come home that night?”

The woman waved the loaded gun in his direction.

“Mr. Steele, my niece has told me all about you. She was right.
You are a very wise detective. I didn’t
report her missing because I already knew she was dead.” Julia gasped when she
heard the words coming from her aunt.

“Auntie! How could you have known unless…”

Julia’s aunt took a sip of sherry and nodded. “I was hurt when
your uncle dumped me but I loved my
sister more than anyone could ever know. I still miss her so much.” Isabella
fought back the tears.

“Your Uncle Cecil was a real bastard. I’m glad he’s dead.” She glanced
out the window then recalled the events of that deadly night.

“It was hot and muggy on the night your parents were murdered. The power
in this neighborhood went out just as it got dark. They said it was a
transformer or something. I was sitting at this same window when Cecil came in.
It wasn’t till that moment that I realized I had never gotten my key back from him; anyway I sat and watched him. He was
as jittery as a June bug on a hot grill in a heat wave. The first thing I
noticed was that he was sweating like crazy. I watched him wiping
something. He jumped when he noticed me sitting here. When he moved closer I could see that it was daddy’s thirty
eight. His hands were covered in blood. I confronted him and we got into a
heated argument. Then….he just blurted it out. He confessed to murdering my
sister and his own brother Romone.” Isabella began to cry. She sobbed as she
continued the story.

“Then the slimy bastard told me he loved me and asked to marry me. Two
months earlier that was all I wanted but that night all I wanted was revenge.
I literally saw red. He knew that if I
married him that they couldn’t make me testify against him in court if he got
caught. I think that’s what must have pushed me over the edge. The 38 was lying
on the dining room table. He asked me to think about it and said he was
going to the kitchen to wash his hands. That’s when I took daddy’s gun and shot him in the back.”

“Wait,” Julia interrupted. “Uncle Cecil said it was daddy who tried to
kill him but daddy was already dead.”

Steele was way ahead of Julia. By now he had figured out most of
what happened that night.

“Cecil gambled on the fact that no one would find the bodies till
morning. The fact that it took three days played right into his hands. By
distorting the timeline he was able to ruin his brother’s good name and
remove himself as a suspect. How could he have committed the murders if he was laying here bleeding to
death? It was impossible for the coroner to determine the exact time of death
after three days so Cecil could tell any story he wanted to. But if the
gun was brought back to the house how did
it get back to the roof?”

Isabella turned to her niece then used her hand to shield her eyes in
shame before lobbing yet another verbal grenade into the conversation of
confessions.

“I took it there,” she whispered.

Julia slumped into the chair next to her, “oh auntie, what have you
done?”

Isabella pleaded with Julia, “I had no choice. The gun was registered.
It was in my possession.

Friday night is when I used to play cards up the street with the girls but
because of the blackout I didn’t go.
Don’t you see how that looks? With Cecil dead a triple murder with me as the
only one left standing. The gun that killed your daddy came from this house.
They would have fried me for sure.”

Now Julia was crying, she just couldn’t wrap her mind around what
she was hearing.

After all these years of believing her parents did themselves in. First
there was the letter in the safety deposit box now this. For the moment her
newly discovered wealth didn’t seem to matter.

There was one glaring truth that was impossible to ignore. The
gold was cursed.

Julia pressed her aunt for information. She needed clarity, some sort of
closure to this delayed nightmare.

“Uncle Cecil didn’t die. It would have been your word against his.”

“No,” Isabella shook her head. “I left him for dead when I went
to the roof of the barber shop. I put the
gun in Rosa’s hand. When I came back Cecil was
gone. The neighbors told me that everyone thought he must have surprised a
robber. That bastard had more lives than a freaking cat. I have had to live with this lie for the last twenty
years. I knew you would hate me once you knew the truth. Mr. Steele, take good
care of my niece.” Isabella raised the gun to her head. “Julia, it’s time for
you to go now.

Julia rose from her seat and yelled “NO! I don’t hate you.
Auntie, you’re all I have. I need you.”

Tensions in the room were at their peak. This was the tipping point, the
moment of truth.

Things could easily go either way. Steele tried to calm things down.
“Isabella, Julia found the gold
coins. She is a wealthy woman but what good is it without being able to share
it with loved ones? She doesn’t blame you. Don’t you think she’s lost enough
family already? Please put the gun down.”

With tears streaming down her face Julia decided to take a
chance. She slowly walked over to her
aunt and gently took the weapon and laid it on the floor. “I love you auntie,
no matter what.”

She reached down and hugged her aunt. After Steele picked up the gun he
wanted to leave the two to sort things out but there were still
unanswered questions.

“Once the cops were convinced that Rosa and Romone had killed each other
why didn’t Cecil turn you in for shooting him?” Isabella wiped the tears from
her eyes and collected herself.

“Cecil wanted the gold more than he wanted to see me in prison.
He knew that if he turned me in that I
would have nothing to lose by telling the police what happened on the rooftop
that night. We could have both ended up in prison and that’s a chance he didn’t
want to take so it was a standoff
that lasted twenty years. He kept a close eye on Julia hoping that one day she
would lead him to it. In a way he was right. It led him to your ex-husband but
his nine lives ran out before he could get to it.”

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Slick was known to have more enemies than friends. Considering the people he had burned, deceived or flat out lied to Steele was always careful to describe him as nothing more than an associate. In his line of work Slick was a source for information, a valuable but costly asset.

The club was crowded as usual but Slick was easy to find. He always sat at the far end of the bar. It was the best vantage point for keeping an eye on the front door in case he needed to make a hasty exit out the back.

Slick remembered the night Julia’s ex came into the bar. Slick was a fast talker. His eyes darted around the room every so often but always returned to the front entrance.

“Listen Steele, there’s only a handful of Hispanic dudes that come in here and most of them are looking for something, you know what I’m saying? This guys a regular, comes in here three, four times a week. Nice guy,” Slick touches his temple with his index finger, “but not very bright if you get my drift.”

Slick paused, took a sip of whiskey, and stared off into the distance. If Steele wanted to know the rest of the story it was time to show some appreciation. Steele laid two twenties and a ten on the bar and Slick instantly picked up the money and the story without missing a beat.

“He came in here the other night and got wasted, started running off at the mouth about being rich. Half hour later he left with some white dude.” Slick thought for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t know him. I heard somebody say he comes down this way from Darby a couple times a month to check in on his sickly grandma or something. About an hour later he came back in by himself and started up again. Then he created the cardinal sin. He pulled out a hand full of gold coins and laid them on the table over there. Well, that got a lotta folk’s attention including mine. He might as well have been wearing a sign I want to get mugged.

Some old sickly looking guy came over to his table. They talked for a while and the drunk guy with the gold left. As soon as he left the old guy followed him out.”

Steele felt like he was feeding the parking meter in center city. But this meter was getting more expensive by the minute. He laid another bill on the bar and slid it over. Slick smiled when he saw the crisp fifty dollar bill.

“See here’s the deal Steele; this guy was always tight with a buck. I mean he was tighter than a three hundred pound hooker trying to squeeze into a size small pair of canary yellow spandex pants. You get my drift Steele? So, like I said, he got my curiosity up so I followed them.

Turns out he lives in the apartment right across the street on Germantown Avenue. Second floor.” Slick pointed in the direction of the building, “apartment12 if I’m not mistaken.” Steele asked a few more questions before heading to the apartment building.

The dimly lit hallways in the rundown apartment building were painted blood red. It was clear from the stains, cracks, and writing along the walls that the apartment building was way overdue for a fresh coat of paint. Even though the rain had cooled things off outside the hallway was hot and muggy.

Odors of cheap wine and urine permeated throughout the dilapidated three story walk up.

Steele ignored the police sirens wailing in the distance. He walked by an old black pay phone with a dozen or so phone numbers scribbled on the wall before climbing the rickety stairs.

Apartment 12 was at the end of the hall on the right. Not knowing what to expect he cautiously approached the apartment. As he drew his weapon Steele noticed the door was slightly opened.

An open door especially in this neighborhood was always a bad sign.

As if that wasn’t enough the foul smell coming from the hallway was suddenly replaced by the stench of a rotting corpse. As the sound of the sirens grew louder Steele considered the possibility that they may be headed his way. He had to move fast. The floor boards creaked as he crept into the small apartment. An old porcelain lamp with painted pink roses topped with a battered cream colored lamp shade gave Steele enough light to navigate around the room. A small picture frame had been tossed into the small black waste basket next to an old raggedy lounge chair. The toxic smell of death grew stronger as he moved towards the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye Steele caught a glimpse of flashing red lights from the window facing Germantown Avenue.

Moments later Steele’s suspicions were confirmed. After making a quick sweep of the ransacked efficiency apartment he holstered his Glock and stood over the lifeless body sprawled out on the kitchen floor. The victim had apparently been shot from behind.

Philadelphia’s finest were just outside the door. The corpse laid face down on the cold, dirty, gray tiled kitchen floor. Just as Steele was about to turn him over he heard a voice yell.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Stan was a night owl, when Steele saw him enter the club at 8:40 the
next morning he braced himself for bad news. “Morning Steele, man I was up all
night working on that key symbol. I refused to let it beat me.” Stan yawned and
rubbed his bloodshot eyes. While Stan was setting up his laptop to pull up the
files Steele went up front to get him a cup of hot coffee. Stan spun the laptop
around so Steele could get a good look at the logo on the screen. “There it is
my brother,” Stan reached for the dark blue cup of steaming coffee.

“That is the Royal Trust logo. You probably never heard of it because
it’s in Canada.
The gold, if it’s still there is in the Royal Bank of Canada.” Stan
carefully sipped the hot coffee as he watched Steele examine the image on the
computer screen. He put down his cup reached in his pocket and handed the key
to Steele who held it next to the picture on the screen.

Steele shook his head, “thanks man. I almost blew it. I assumed that
Romone was converting the money into Canadian Maple Leaf coins and bringing it
back to the United States
to avoid paying taxes on it. I never thought he would risk leaving it so far
away. Royal Bank of Canada
huh?”

Stan took another sip of coffee, “yeah man, drove me crazy all night
trying to find that thing. In 1961 they changed their logo but not the keys.
Too much of a hassle contacting all those people with safety deposit boxes.
That’s why I couldn’t find it. Hey Steele,” he handed his friend a slip of
paper. “I know your next move is to call your friend Al in Montreal. It’s Friday.” Steele looked at the
small white piece of paper and shrugged his shoulders.

“What’s Friday got to do with anything?” Stan looked very serious, “be
careful man. I did the math, an ounce of gold back then was going for about
$380.00 On today’s market that same ounce is worth $1,750 almost 5 times what
is was worth back then. If enough of those Canadian Maple leafs are still
sittin’ in that box they could be worth over a million dollars.

Watch your ass Steele. By the time you get back here it will be Saturday
evening, the banks will be closed, and won’t open again till Monday.”

Stan was right about Steele calling Al and as usual Al was away on a
case. It was early afternoon when his assistant Monica met Steele and Julia at
the Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport in Montreal.
Steele was taken aback when Monica decided to ditch their usual
greeting. Instead of a warm hug she
kissed him right on the lips. For years the two had casually flirted but Monica
had grown tired of playing cat and mouse. The tall beautiful brunette waited
for Steele’s reaction but the suave Philly detective kept his emotions
in check, well at least on the outside.

Monica’s car was parked just outside the airport. She looked around
making sure they were not followed before pulling out into the busy airport
traffic. Julia sat in the back seat. She felt uneasy. ‘Could this be it?’ she thought. After all these years and
all the wild stories about her parents and the hidden gold.

‘What if there is no gold?’ Julia shook her head from side to side
deciding to block the negative thoughts from entering her mind. She
focused on the conversation in the front of the car.

Monica kept one hand on the wheel, she used her other hand to make a
point to Steele while weaving in and out of the midday traffic.

“Okay Alex I’ve already contacted the bank. I used to work there
during my summers off from the
university. That was years ago before I became a detective but I still have a
few friends there. Julia’s parents had the foresight to pay the deposit box
fees for the next 25 years but get this. When I asked the bank to search
the records it turns out that 21 years ago they had all the ownership records turned over to Julia. So they must have
suspected that something bad was coming eh?”

By the time Monica pulled up in front of the bank Julia’s hands were shaking.
Monica knew that Steele couldn’t bring
his gun onto Canadian soil so she opened her purse and showed him her small
caliber silver Beretta. She wanted to reassure him that she was prepared if
something nasty was to go down.

Monica kept watch in the banks lobby while the branch manager
guided Steele and Julia to inside the
vault. This was the moment of truth. After a few moments of fumbling around
trying to get the key into the locked deposit box Julia turned around, her
voice was as shaky as her hands. “Mr. Steele would you please?” She
almost dropped the key as she handed Steele.

When he slid the box out it nearly fell to the ground because of the
weight. There was definitely something inside. Steele sat the dull looking gray
box on the table and waited for the manager to leave before offering Julia a chair. Julia took a
deep breath and let it out slowly. She carefully lifted the top of the deposit
box and gasped when she saw what was inside. More than four hundred shinny gold
Canadian Maple Leaf coins lay scattered inside. Julia held her hand to
her face and began to weep.

Alexander Steele leaned down and gave her a gentle hug. “Looks like you
hit the mother-load.”

Julia nodded; “I can save my Mom’s restaurant.”

Steele chuckled, “hell with this kind of money not only can you
save it you can remodel the whole damn
place.”

There were more than just gold coins in the box there was an old yellow
envelope that read to Julia ‘our little angel.’ Julia looked up at Steele. She
took a minute to calm herself before opening the envelope.

The twenty year old letter read: ‘To our precious little angel Julia. If
you are reading this letter then something has gone terribly wrong. Your Uncle
Cecil has discovered the gold but he does not know where it is. He is a violent
man and has been threatening to harm your mother if she doesn’t take her share
of gold and run off with him. For obvious
reasons we cannot go the cops. I will do whatever I have to, whatever it takes
to protect you and your mom. If I fail and something was to happen to your mom we wanted you to have this. Love you
always.

The letter was signed by both Rosa and Romone. Julia sat silently taking
in the words of her parents. It was like they were still there in that very
room with her. Many of her questions were answered. After 20 long hard
years she finally knew the truth about her parents. They didn’t kill each other. But if they didn’t who did?

“Mr. Steele, how could Uncle Cecil have murdered my parents if he was in
the hospital with a gunshot wound in the back?”

Steele didn’t know the answer but they were about to find out. After Al
made a few calls he called in a favor at airport customs Steele had the
necessary paperwork to bring the gold back home.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Laura’s Lounge was in the heart of North Philly. It lacked the style and
class of Steele’s Inner Sanctum but the colorful cast of regulars who flowed
through the doors on a nightly bases sure made up for it. Steele referred to it
as the underground ghetto version of Wal-Mart. Watches, baby clothes,
electronics, anything from designer clothes to designer drugs could be brought
or sold at the club.

Owner Laura and Alexander Steele were good friends. In all the years she
had been in business Laura had one rule. Absolutely no merchandise could be
brought inside the club. The deals were made inside but the transactions had to
take place elsewhere.

By the time Steele reached Laura’s Lounge night had fallen and the rain
had stopped. Two scroungy, scrawny looking dudes blocked Steele’s path just as
he reached the front door steps.

“Hey brother we need a couple of dollars to get this bottle before the
liquor store closes.”

Steele was annoyed on several levels. Any attempt to threaten or strong
arm him was usually met with swift retaliation as the two would be shakedown
artist were about to find out.

Steele took a second to give the guys a chance to reconsider but when
they refused to budge he told them. “The welfare office is down the street.”

A small crowd had began to gather on the sidewalk as the shorter of the
two men got in Steele’s face, “oh, you gotta be a wise ass, all you had to say
was NO.”

When Steele attempted to step around the men he felt a large hand
pulling on his shoulder. Instinctively Steele spun around and punched the guy
in the face while simultaneously kicking the second one in the crotch.

Not willing to give up easily the first guy grunted as he charged at
Steele who quickly side stepped the angry man before smashing his head against
the hood of the brown Kia parked in front of the club. As the dazed thug slid
down the side of the car Steele could hear the footsteps of the second guy
getting closer. He whirled around punched the attacker twice in the gut then
watched him fall to the ground next to his friend.

Steele looked at his knuckles then knelt over the two men and softly
said, “No.”

Slick was known to have more enemies than friends. Considering the
people he had burned, deceived or flat out lied to Steele was always careful to
describe him as nothing more than an associate. In his line of work Slick was a
source for information, a valuable but costly asset.

The club was crowded as usual but Slick was easy to find. He always sat
at the far end of the bar. It was the best vantage point for keeping an eye on
the front door in case he needed to make a hasty exit out the back.

Slick remembered the night Julia’s ex came into the bar. Slick was a
fast talker. His eyes darted around the room every so often but always returned
to the front entrance.

“Listen Steele, there’s only a handful of Hispanic dudes that come in
here and most of them are looking for something, you know what I’m saying? This
guys a regular, comes in here three, four times a week. Nice guy,” Slick
touches his temple with his index finger, “but not very bright if you get my
drift.”

Slick paused, took a sip of whiskey, and stared off into the distance.
If Steele wanted to know the rest of the story it was time to show some
appreciation. Steele laid two twenties and a ten on the bar and Slick instantly
picked up the money and the story without missing a beat.

“He came in here the other night and got wasted, started running off at
the mouth about being rich. Half hour later he left with some white dude.”
Slick thought for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t know him. I heard
somebody say he comes down this way from Darby a couple times a month to check
in on his sickly grandma or something. About an hour later he came back in by
himself and started up again. Then he created the cardinal sin. He pulled out a
hand full of gold coins and laid them on the table over there. Well, that got a
lotta folk’s attention including mine. He might as well have been wearing a
sign I want to get mugged.

Some old sickly looking guy came over to his table. They talked for a
while and the drunk guy with the gold left. As soon as he left the old guy followed
him out.”

Steele felt like he was feeding the parking meter in center city. But
this meter was getting more expensive by the minute. He laid another bill on
the bar and slid it over. Slick smiled when he saw the crisp fifty dollar bill.

“See here’s the deal Steele; this guy was always tight with a buck. I
mean he was tighter than a three hundred pound hooker trying to squeeze into a
size small pair of canary yellow spandex pants. You get my drift Steele? So,
like I said, he got my curiosity up so I followed them.

Turns out he lives in the apartment right across the street on Germantown Avenue.
Second floor.” Slick pointed in the direction of the building, “apartment12 if
I’m not mistaken.” Steele asked a few more questions before heading to the
apartment building.

The dimly lit hallways in the rundown apartment building were painted
blood red. It was clear from the stains, cracks, and writing along the walls
that the apartment building was way overdue for a fresh coat of paint. Even
though the rain had cooled things off outside the hallway was hot and muggy.

Odors of cheap wine and urine permeated throughout the dilapidated three
story walkup.

Steele ignored the police sirens wailing in the distance. He walked by
an old black pay phone with a dozen or so phone numbers scribbled on the wall
before climbing the rickety stairs.

Apartment 12 was at the end of the hall on the right. Not
knowing what to expect he cautiously approached the apartment. As he drew his
weapon Steele noticed the door was slightly opened.

An open door especially in this neighborhood was always a bad sign.

As if that wasn’t enough the foul smell coming from the hallway was
suddenly replaced by the stench of a rotting corpse. As the sound of the sirens
grew louder Steele considered the possibility that they may be headed his way.
He had to move fast. The floor boards creaked as he crept into the small
apartment. An old porcelain lamp with painted pink roses topped with a battered
cream colored lamp shade gave Steele enough light to navigate around the room.
A small picture frame had been tossed into the small black waste basket next to
an old raggedy lounge chair. The toxic smell of death grew stronger as he moved
towards the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye Steele caught a glimpse of
flashing red lights from the window facing Germantown Avenue.

Moments later Steele’s suspicions were confirmed. After making a quick
sweep of the ransacked efficiency apartment he holstered his Glock and stood
over the lifeless body sprawled out on the kitchen floor. The victim had
apparently been shot from behind.

Philadelphia’s finest were just outside the door. The
corpse laid face down on the cold, dirty, gray tiled kitchen floor. Just as
Steele was about to turn him over he heard a voice yell.

“Stop where you are and put both your hands up now!”

After a brief explanation and flashing his PI license Steele was given
the standard lecture about interfering in police business. Three uniformed
officers examined the crime scene while the fourth escorted him out of the
building. As he was lead out of the kitchen Steele noticed scorch marks in the
sink and fragments of burnt paper. He needed to see Julia but it had been a
long day so the news would have to wait till morning.

It was half pass eleven when Steele pulled up in front of his house. He
could hear the faint sounds of Boyz II Men singing “This Is My Heart’ coming
from inside as he pushed his door key into the lock. Steele turned to look up
the street to see where Shakia had parked her car. He chuckled as he thought
back to his earlier conversation with Stan, realizing that not even his best
friend would ever comprehend the deep bond and love that connected Shakia and
Steele together.

Steele immediately noticed the aroma of steak and potatoes wafting throughout
the house.

The moment he entered the living room Shakia walked over and greeted her
man with a long passionate kiss.

“Thank you for the flowers babe, they’re beautiful. How did you know I
would be here?”

Steele shrugged his shoulders and smiled, “lucky guess.”

Shakia looked over her shoulder and pointed towards the kitchen. “You
hungry baby? I cooked you a prime rib with a baked potato.”

Steele kissed Shakia again and gave her a sheepish grin. “Yeah, I’m
hungry but the food will be cold by the time we’re done.”

Shakia laughed, “Ooh Alex I love it when you talk dirty.”

Steele took her by the hand and headed towards the bedroom. “You know
your bath water's getting cold.”

Shakia stopped to look up at Steele, “how did you know I ran bathwater?”

Steele held his index finger to his nose, “lavender oil; you bath with
it all the time.”

Steele gently tugged on Shakia’s hand this time guiding her toward the
bathroom. “Come on baby, tonight we’re going to multitask.”

Street parking in South Philly was always a nightmare. The A.M. rush
hour was about to start and that would only make it worse. The closest parking
spot to Julia’s restaurant was a block away. As he approached the restaurant
Steele noticed Julia talking with two men. She was standing near the curb with
her back up against a green Toyota.
The look of stark fear on her face was enough for Steele to know the two men
weren’t there to discuss the menu.

Steele began to jog but broke into a full sprint when the tall slender
man whipped out a switchblade. Using the element of surprise Steele grabbed the
knife welding man from behind.

He wrapped his arm around the thug’s neck and squeezed as hard as he
could.

Before the man could react Steele grabbed his forearm to keep the knife
at bay. Julia screamed as the two men tussled. Bystanders stopped to watch as
the second assailant ran toward Steele. The guy in the choke hold was losing
consciousness, his head was tiled back and he was beginning to turn blue.

Steele waited until the last second to thrust his arm forward causing
the thug with the knife to plunge his blade deep into the gut of his friend.
Out of the corner of his eye Steele saw three angry looking men running toward
him. With the knife buried in the guys stomach Steele released the first man
and flung him into the wounded man causing them both to fall to the sidewalk.
Things were moving quickly. As he glanced down at the two men Steele could hear
the pounding of footsteps as the three men came closer. Instinctively he
reached under his shirt and drew his gun.

If the sight of a fully loaded Glock didn’t slow them down Steele would
not have a problem giving them a demonstration. To his surprise Julia rushed
over and attempted to lower Steele’s arm.

“No Mr. Steele, she yelled, these are my friends. They came to help me.”

Steele gave the men the once over and lowered his weapon, “well it’s
about damn time. Where the hell were you guys five minutes ago?”

Once the police arrested the thugs Julia and Steele went inside the
restaurant. There weren’t many breakfast patrons in fact the restaurant was
nearly empty. Julia looked nervous as the two sat in the first booth. “Thank
you for saving me Mr. Steele. Would you like something to eat?”

Steele shook his head, “no, but I would like some answers. What was that
all about?

Why are these guys after you?”

Julia looked out the window at the people as they passed by. For a
moment it was as if she didn’t hear the questions. Steele leaned forward toward
her and whispered; “look, if you’re not up front with me I can’t help you.”
After a few more seconds of silence he rose from the table and headed to the
door.

By the time Steele grabbed the metal door handle Julia yelled out to
him, “Okay! I’ll tell you.” Steele stopped and returned to his seat and looked
her in the eyes. Julia was fidgeting in her seat. Even though no new customers
had come in she still looked around the room making sure that the few customers
and the kitchen, and waiters could not hear. In a soft voice she whispered, “I
owe them money… a lot of money.”

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she told Steele the rest of the
story. “This,” she looked around the room, “was my mother’s restaurant. She
built it from nothing. When I was a little girl she would always say I have
provided for your future. She would always talk about the golden leaves but I
never understood what she meant. Golden leaves,” she pondered the words before
going on.

“My mom wanted me to go to college, she didn’t want me to struggle the
way she did but in the end this restaurant is all I have that’s left of her.
The men and woman who worked at the Navy Yard use to come here and have
breakfast early every morning before going off to work. There wasn’t an empty
seat in the place. When the government closed down the Navy ship yard, business
dropped by 30% then we got hit with the recession. The banks turned my loan
application down and I didn’t know what else to do.”

Steele listened to the rest of the story. There was only one thing she
purposely avoided telling him. “Julia, who did you borrow the money from?”
Julia buried her face inside her hands and shook her head side to side.

“Mr. Steele, I’m so ashamed.” She took a minute to regain her composure
then gave him the bad news. “I…….I borrowed it from the mob.”

On his way back to the club Steele decided to checkout Julia’s Uncle
Cecil. It appears that her curse theory may have some truth to it. The bullet
Cecil took that night in the spine twenty years ago was inoperable and now he
was dying from lead poisoning. Steele caught up with him at the University of
Pennsylvania Hospital on Spruce
Street. The years had taken their toll on Cecil.
He was not at all like the man his niece had described to Steele. He was frail
and his voice was so weak Steele had to move close to the bed to hear him.

He told Steele how his brother used to drive to Montreal every month to invest the money from
the restaurant and the barber shop. He explained how one of the other barbers
traveled with him on one of the trips.

“It was the dead of winter. The icy, snow covered roads on Route 87
north were treacherous.

The car flipped over and the barber was killed. He was Greg senior,
Julia’s ex-husband’s father.” Cecil was beginning to fade. Steele could almost
see the life draining from his face.

Cecil paused and starred off into space. “Mr. Steele, do you think you
will go to heaven when you die?”

Steele thought for a moment and answered, “Yes, I sure hope so.”

Cecil’s eyes rolled around in his head. It was hard for him to focus. He
looked over at Steele and whispered, “Don’t expect to see me when you get
there.” He reached for Steel’s hand.

“Tell Julia I’m sorry.” Cecil was holding something tightly in his hand.
Steele was curious but patient. Once he handed Steele what he was holding Cecil
took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and died.

Steele opened his hand and was shocked at what he saw. He stared down at
the four shinny gold Canadian Maple Leaf coins. He remembered the words of
Julia’s mother. The golden leaves, her mother was talking about the image on
the gold coins.

Julia’s ex-husband was right. The stories were true, Greg’s curiosity
and obsession may have cost him his life. It was now left up to Steele to tell
his client about the murder and the gold coins. He would also have to tell
Julia about her uncle’s involvement.

Steele’s inner alarm had gone off. Something was off kilter. After
breaking the bad news to Julia, he went home. Steele tossed and turned for most
of the night. It was like trying to scratch that itch in the center of your
back, it was there, it was annoying, but you just couldn’t make it go away. It
was twenty years later and the body count had begun creeping up again.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

The second after he walked Julia to
her car Steele went to work. With detective Vance on vacation Steele had no one
at police headquarters downtown that he could call for help so he did the next
best thing; he walked back inside the club and asked Stan hack into the police
database. Before Stan could begin they needed to make a few calls. With the
information Julia provided Steele’s cold case had begun to heat up.

Every good detective knows that
solving a case can come down to the smallest detail. So in order to conduct a
proper inch by inch search of the barber shop Steele needed a small army.

With Stan’s help they began calling
friends he knew were very loyal to him. Friends who would keep their mouths shut
about the hunt for the gold. News around Philly always traveled fast.

The last thing he needed was a
bunch of wanna be treasure hunters descending on his property like a swarm of
locust.

Steele’s first call was to Shakia.
He knew her better than anyone, so when he told her he had given the workmen
the rest of the day off her reaction was predictable. Ten minutes after the
call Shakia came strutting through the front door of the Inner Sanctum wearing
white shorts and a hot pink blouse. After all their years together Steele was
still captivated by how beautiful and sexy she was. Shakia had more important
things to focus on; she decided to forego the usual greeting. Standing directly
in front of Steele she briefly examined his face before gently placing the back
of her hand on his forehead.

“Hum, no temperature. That’s good.
Shakia looked into his eyes for a moment then playfully tugged on Steele’s arm.
“Come on baby, I’m sure the doctors will be able to find out what’s wrong with
you.”

Stan sat at the bar sipping his
drink as he enjoyed the show. He chuckled as Shakia made fun of Steele’s plan
to hunt for the hidden gold. After she felt she had made her point Shakia
released his arm and placed her hands on her hips.

“Alexander Steele have you lost
your damn mind?” Not waiting for an answer Shakia continued. “How do you expect
me to meet the deadline for finishing this project if you continue sending the
workers away? Hidden treasure, really?!” She waved her index finger from side
to side.

“Okay Alex, no more Indiana Jones
DVD’s for you.”

Stan laughed so hard he nearly fell
off his stool. Even Steele chuckled a little. He placed his hands on her
shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

“Okay baby, you’ve had your fun.”
Shakia wasn’t done. She fumbled around inside her little white pocket book and
pulled out her blackberry. Shakia waved it around as she spoke.

Her tone had softened, it was as if
she was pleading with him to understand the position he was putting her in.

“Alex, baby, you’re killing me. You
want this place ready to open by Labor Day weekend but this is the second delay
in a week. Now I have to spend the afternoon rescheduling deliveries like the
sound system, light fixtures, carpets and a half dozen other things.”

Steele’s crew of volunteer treasure
hunters was starting to arrive. When he noticed Johnny, the Philosopher and
Frankie walking in Steele thanked them for coming and ask Stan to fill them in.
He took Shakia by the hand and led her to his booth where they could talk in
private. By the time he Steele finished talking to his girlfriend Tara and
Leroy had joined the rest of the group. Steele walked Shakia to her car and
gave Stan final instructions before turning to his friends. The hunt for the
gold was on.

It was after five when Steele returned
to the club from next door. The Alex Steele and company grid search of the old
barber shop was a bust so he thanked everyone and came back to the Inner
Sanctum. Over the years Steele had brought Stan in on many cases to cut down
legwork. He knew from experience that when Stan flashed that wide grin he had
found something juicy.

Today Stan was grinning like a
crackhead who had just found five dollars worth of loose change inside the
couch cushions. He spun the laptop around in Steele’s direction when he saw him
headed his way.

“Jackpot brother!” Stan began
giving Steele the rundown as he slid into his usual seat. “Check it out baby.
That’s the police report from the double murder. According to the medical
examiner’s report the murders took place on a Saturday night but” he paused
briefly for effect “the bodies weren’t found till Tuesday morning. The barber
shop doesn’t open on Monday’s so nobody missed old Romone and as far as I can
tell Rosa wasn’t reported missing either. Even
if they were, the cops won’t look for them until after they were missing for
more than 72 hours.”

Steele stroked his mustache as he
stared at the computer screen. “Interesting,” he mumbled, “why didn’t Rosa’s sister report her disappearance?”

Stan didn’t pay much attention to
Steele’s question. He shrugged his shoulders and continued. “There’s more, the
bodies were found on the roof top. You guys were looking in the wrong place.”

Just then Sugar Bear came walking
down the aisle holding his hand against his right jaw.

“That bastard pulled my tooth.”

Stan laughed, “Look at the bright
side, brother. You can put that tooth under your pillow tonight and the tooth
fairy will leave you a whole quarter.”

Everyone laughed except Sugar Bear
who was now looking at Stan as if he wanted to choke him with his bare hands.

Steele had been waiting for hours
to ask Sugar Bear about the necklace. When he did Sugar Bear wasn’t very
co-operative. Holding his jaw with one hand he used his free hand to pat his
chest.

“Oh, I really can’t talk about it.
It’s personal. Why are you just asking me about this now?” Steele was surprised
at Sugar Bear’s reluctance to answer the questions. Keeping his eyes on Sugar
Bear he slowly leaned back in his seat.

“So what you’re saying Sugar Bear
is that you would rather talk to the people down at unemployment than to me.”
Once Sugar Bear heard Steele’s remark and noticed the WTF look on Steele’s face
he had an immediate change of heart.

“Well, uh, okay, I guess it won’t
hurt if I told you a little something boss. See I’m a member of a secret
society called the Crystal
of the Seventh Ray. Now before you guys’ imagination starts running away from
you let me explain. We don’t drink goat’s blood or sacrifice chickens or dance
around naked in Fairmount during the full moon and stuff. This secret group has
been around for over a hundred years. It’s basically a group of astrologists.
We study the planet Uranus and the connection and effect it has on us. The 7th
ray is the final light of the crystal on the chain we wear. It has power.”

Sugar Bear ignored the question.
“The necklace is how we identify other members.

During the spring and summer when
the weather is nice we use high power telescopes to stargaze.”

Steele and Stan looked at each
other. Steele pointed to the computer, “that’s why they were on the roof that
night. Thanks Sugar Bear, take the night off. I hope you feel better tomorrow.”

Sugar Bear took a seat next to
Steele. “Thanks boss but I want to know what’s going on here.”

Stan filled Sugar Bear in then
explained that the bodies laid on the roof exposed to the harsh sun and rain
for several days.

“According to this report there was
also a pretty bad thunder storm during that weekend and rigor mortis had set
in. All the prints had either been wiped or washed away by the rain. There were
traces of vomit but it didn’t match either of the victims.”

Stan leaned back away from the
computer and grimaced. “Damn, this is some pretty gruesome shit. Says here that
her throat was cut and he was shot twice at close range. A straight razor and a
forty-five were found at the scene. That must have been one hell of an
argument.”

Steele shook his head slowly, “that
explains why nobody called the police that night. They may have heard the
argument and the gun shots but nobody saw anything. The neighbors couldn’t tell
where the shots came from and they may have mistaken the gunshot for thunder.”

Steele got up and headed for the
front door. “Hey boss, where you going?”

Steele shouted back, “Where you
think I’m going?” He pointed to the ceiling; “I’m going back next door to the
rooftop.” Steele stopped and swiveled toward Sugar Bear. “Hey, what did you do
with those magnets?”

Stan gave Steele an inquisitive
look while Sugar Bear got up and fished around inside the trash can behind the
bar. Steele sniggered and shook his head at Stan, “Man don’t ask, I know you.
If I tell you you’ll only make things worse.”

Once Steele had the magnets he
continued on his hunt for more clues.

Since Steele’s last trip to the old
building, storm clouds had moved in. Steele could feel tiny sprinkles of
drizzle on his face as he surveyed the dark angry clouds. He needed to move
quickly before the heavier rains began.

After twenty years of neglect the
roof was in extremely bad shape. What remained of the blacktop was covered with
old ash gray gravel. The remnants of an old rusted telescope and two wooden,
weather beaten beach chairs were all that remained of Romone’s makeshift
observatory.

Navigating his way around the roof
was a treacherous affair for the inquisitive detective.

One false step and Steele could end
up in the hospital with a broken back or worse. Steele held the magnets outward
inside his opened hand as he gingerly made his way around the creaking rooftop.
The detective was looking for any clue that could help him solve the twenty
year old mystery. After nearly falling through two of the weakest spots the
powerful magnates slid off his hand and landed about two feet away. Steele
finally spotted a small black metal key case nestled against the brick chimney.

Once he was back inside the club
Stan and Sugar Bear watched as Steele struggled to force the rusted key holder
open. After a couple of tugs he whipped out his pocket knife and pried the top
backwards until he heard a pop. Steele held up a bronze key with the logo of a
lion’s head and paw. Beneath the paw was an image of a world globe and the
initials RBC.

He tossed the key over to Stan,
“you recognize this symbol?” Steele asked.

After giving it the once over he
shook his head and handed the key over to Sugar Bear. He held it up to the
light. “No man can’t say that I do. Looks like a safety deposit key to me.”

Sugar Bear handed the key back to
Steele who promptly tossed it back to Stan.

“See what you can find out, will
ya. If you need me I’ll be at Laura’s Lounge trying to find out what happened
to Julia’s ex-husband. That’s one of Slick’s hangouts, maybe he heard
something.”

Steele paused at the back door then
snapped his fingers before walking back to Stan. He pulled his wallet from his
back pocket and handed Stan his American Express Black Card. “Hey do me a favor
will ya Stan? Order Shakia a dozen of those red and yellow tropical flowers,
Hawaiian Anthurium or something like that from the florist Paul Beales over on Ogontz Ave.”

Steele quickly jotted down
something on a piece of scrap paper. “Here, have the florist add this note.
Pick them up and drop them off at my place. Make sure you leave them in plain
sight; you know somewhere where she won’t miss them.”

Stan starred at the card and note.
“Did I miss something Steele? I thought Shakia was mad at you?”

Steele shook his head and smiled.
“No, Shakia’s a business woman, she’s upset with the delays but after hours
when the sun goes down she shuts that side of herself off. Trust me, she’ll
show.”

Friday

Chapter 5

Curse of the Coins

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